Fed up and heartsick, Dancer, virtuoso violinist and assassin decided to retire despite the angry objections of his boss. On the run for his life, he headed for a hideaway in the mountains. Safe in the warm shelter of his cave Dancer awoke to the strong perfume of flowers. His investigations revealed a tunnel leading to another cave and a beautiful valley. After a quick survey of his new surroundings he was shocked to find that the tunnel had disappeared trapping him in Mystic Valley.

A gardener and amateur botanist, Eppie spent her lonely days searching out new plants for the inhabitants of Mystic Valley while she waited for her destined bond-mate to find his way to the valley. Now time is running short. From the instant they forged a mind bond, her body began schalzina, the biological preparation for physical bonding in valley women. Each new occurrence of schalzina is stronger and nudges Eppie another step closer to the final consequence—death—unless Dancer reaches the valley in time for their oath-binding and physical bonding.

Will he agree to an immediate joining with this beautiful stranger?The Interview1. You have some sizzling sex scenes in your book. How hard is it to write sex and make it convincing?

Ninety percent of sex is in the imagination. So I fantasize about what my characters want to do. That’s what it is—writing a fantasy, the more imaginative the better. If you’re seeing the action in your mind’s eye, then it’s easier to figure out where the body parts go, regardless of the number of people involved.

2. Romance and the condom. How hard do you find to slip it in or on when the action is hot between characters?

Well. Hmmm. The thing about writing fantasy is that you’re not going to let pesky things like condoms get in the way. Let’s see… I think I had a scene in Traveller’s Refuge where my character Bishop was um, going at it hot and heavy in the kitchen. The lady was sitting on the counter…and when the moment of truth came, he dressed for the occasion with a condom from the kitchen drawer where he had a few stashed. He must have been a Boy Scout in his youth.

The other characters in the Mystic Valley series are actively trying for conception as that is a priority in the valley where the birth rate is very, very low. There is also the factor that Mystic Valley is a place out of time and condoms aren’t a commodity there.3. Do you think romance just happens or do you make your characters work for it?

I’m of the philosophy that there has to be an initial spark to work with. The characters may fight the attraction but there has to be some emotion to keep them coming back for more or they would just walk away. Having said that, doesn’t there have to be some type of obstacle to overcome? If not, there isn’t any story.

4. What is it about your hero that makes him irresistible to women?

Dancer is a man carrying on in the face of terrible tragedy. Any man can be attractive (which he is). Any man can be capable, smart, talented, sexy. But when a man is all of that and vulnerable, then he’s irresistible.

5. Do you think readers want to escape or do they want to identify with a character?

I think they want to escape AND identify with the character however briefly. Usually when I as a reader can’t possibly identify with a character because they’re TDTL (to dumb to live) then the author’s lost me for good. My “suspension of belief” can stretch like a rubber band if the author sucks me in far enough. As an author, I want to be able to do the same thing for my readers.

6. What do you think is the most important thing to remember when writing romance?

Respect comes first. If the characters have no respect for each other then the romance is kaput from the beginning. I don’t believe in love without mutual respect. I don’t believe that abuse, physical or mental, demonstrates love or respect so I won’t ever have my main characters take part in that sort of behavior.

7. What are you working on now?

I just submitted my first shape shifter book to my editor. Yay! So I’m now working on a new series titled The Dead Relatives Club. The first book, Looking for Mr. Goodspeed is about Myrtle, the librarian traveling to the National Archives in search of an ancestor named Josiah Goodspeed. There she meets a luscious retired hunk named RJ Bozworth. And things happen…***Amarinda note – The shape-shifter book has received a contract

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